Apparatus, system and methods for improved vertical farming

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure is directed to improved vertical farming using autonomous systems and methods for growing edible plants, using improved stacking and shelving units configured to allow for gravity-based irrigation, gravity-based loading and unloading, along with a system for autonomous rotation, incorporating novel plant-growing pallets, while being photographed and recorded by camera systems incorporating three dimensional/multispectral cameras, with the images and data recorded automatically sent to a database for processing and for gauging plant health, pest and/or disease issues, and plant life cycle. The present disclosure is also directed to novel harvesting methods, novel modular lighting, novel light intensity management systems, real time vision analysis that allows for the dynamic adjustment and optimization of the plant growing environment, and a novel rack structure system that allows for simplified building and enlarging of vertical farming rack systems.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/490,822, filed Apr. 27, 2017, entitled APPARATUS, SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR IMPROVED VERTICAL FARMING, and U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/539,163 filed Jul. 31, 2017, entitled APPARATUS,SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR IMPROVED VERTICAL FARMING, both of which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entirety as though fully setforth herein.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus, system and methods forimproved vertical farming, including improved farming shelves and racks,efficient transport of grow trays, which utilize a cluster system, novelplant-grow trays or pallets, which allow for combined optimal plantgrowth and irrigation methods, novel harvesting methods, novel modularlighting, novel light intensity management systems, real time visionanalysis that allows for the dynamic adjustment and optimization of theplant growing environment, novel camera mobility systems, and a novelrack structure system that allows for simplified building and enlargingof vertical farming rack systems.

The present disclosure also relates to the improvement of autonomoussystems and methods for growing edible plants, using improved scalablestacking and shelving units configured to allow for scaling orincreasing the size of the system through additional shelving units. Thedisclosed shelving units utilize gravity-based irrigation, along withnovel water supply and draining, gravity-based loading and unloading ofthe plant-growing trays and camera system, along with a cluster-basedshuttle system for autonomous rotation, incorporating novelplant-growing and germination trays. This system significantly reducesthe amount of labor required to tend to a vertical farm.

The present disclosure further relates to a system that photographs andrecords the plant life cycle by 1) high definition cameras located ontelescoping poles using one or more gimbals to allow the cameras torecord each plant, the telescoping system capable of transport betweenshelves; 2) a camera vehicle attached to a rail or rail system above theplant-grow trays, capable of independent movement to record each plant;and/or 3) autonomous flying drones, incorporating threedimensional/multispectral cameras, flying preprogrammed routes, therebyreducing or eliminating certain labor costs. Multiple cameras can alsobe permanently mounted onto the vertical farming system in otherstrategic places as described herein. The result is to record imagesand/or video of the growing plants, automatically analyze these imagesand videos in real-time, thereby understanding exactly what the plantneeds for optimal growth, while retaining the database for future plantgrowth. This will allow the plant itself to become the “sensor,”controlling its own environment, thereby continually optimizing its owngrowing environment and reducing the energy needed to obtain the maximumproduction. By utilizing these novel methods of camera transport, we cansignificantly increase the amount of plants that can be monitoredautonomously, while significantly decreasing the expense associated withpurchasing multiple cameras.

The present disclosure further relates to cameras, such as 3D cameras,that may be mounted on a gyroscopic stabilizer to obtain clean andprecise images and video of the growing plants. The cameras may alsocomprise additional sensors to obtain information about the verticalfarming infrastructure. The cameras may be Wi-Fi enabled, or in otherways wirelessly connected or wired directly to the system forautomatically transmitting the recorded images and data to a database inthe vertical farming system for processing and for gauging plant health,biotic and abiotic stresses, pest and/or disease issues, and plant lifecycle, along with determining the acceptability of the vertical farmingsystem.

Also, in the present disclosure, lighting bars and/or LED sheets areintegrated into a lighting platform, which is dynamically connected tothe shelving system that maintains a constant (or near-constant)photosynthetic flux density (PPFD) exposure to plant canopies throughoutplant growth stages. The lighting platform is outfitted with infraredsensors, ultrasonic sensors, and/or other sensors, and configured toautonomously be raised and lowered above the grow trays using anintegrated motor, driveshaft, cabling, and/or gears. In an embodiment,the motor and gears drive or rotate a shaft to spool or unspool cablingfastened to lighting bars and/or LED sheets via pulley and/or gearsystems. Other methods for raising and lowering the lighting platformabove the grow trays can be incorporated into the system within thescope of the present disclosure.

In the present disclosure, the lighting platform supports theintegration of individual sensors and/or sensor systems utilizing localprocessing for data analysis and storage, and wireless communicationschema for remote data collection, storage, and analysis, using, forexample, machine learning and/or artificial intelligence. Sensorsinclude, but are not limited to, temperature, humidity, distance (e.g.,ultrasonic, infrared) and optical (e.g., photodiodes, photoresistors,phototransistors, ultraviolet-cameras, visible spectrum cameras,near-infrared cameras, infrared cameras, thermographic cameras). Asdescribed herein, the camera(s) could be mounted to the lightingplatform, and when the system desires to capture an image or video, thelighting platform will autonomously raise to an appropriate height tocapture as many of the plants in a particular grow tray, or on a shelf,as possible, and then autonomously return to the height most appropriatefor optimal plant growth. The motor and/or sensors or sensor systemsprovide feedback to the vertical farming system as to the distance thelighting bars and/or LED sheets are from the growing plants.

In the Present disclosure, sensors can also provide information aboutthe plant environment, plant condition, plant life cycle, pestconditions, plant health, etc. A history can be generated, and alongwith the information from sensors, obtained during the entire life ofthe plants from seed to harvest, the history can be included in adatabase of all of the similar or dissimilar plants for optimizing thegrowth of the plants.

In addition to creating an optimal plant growing environment, thepresent disclosure also relates to utilization of the lighting platformrepresenting both labor and energy savings. Based on the plant canopy'sheight at any point in the plant's life cycle, the lighting platformautonomously adjusts the lighting fixture height above crops/trays tomaintain a constant, optimal position throughout crop growth cycle,thereby eliminating the need for daily, manual adjustments. Asdescribed, the lighting platform allows for lighting fixtures to bepositioned at a minimum distance from crops/trays (i.e., less than sixinches above canopy for lighting platform compared with over twenty fourinches for stationary lighting fixtures). By maintaining the lightingfixtures at a minimal height above crops/trays, the system can utilizeless powerful (i.e., lower wattage) lighting fixtures (or standard-powerlighting fixtures), at lower power consumption rates through dimmingschema. By maintaining this minimum light fixture height autonomously,one can produce the required light intensity needed for plants to growefficiently at significantly less wattage, and therefore significantlyless cost. This resolves one of the major expenses in the vertical farmindustry: high power consumption. It also enables us to grow crops thatare currently thought to be too “energy intensive”, such as wheat, at asignificantly lower expense.

The present disclosure further relates to a novel rack structuremanufacturing system for vertical farming in which parts and material,such as extruded aluminum or extruded plastic, are used for transportingand transferring irrigation, energy, materials and environments from oneplace to another. By using predesigned extruded aluminum for example,hollow cavities reduce or eliminate the need for separate conduit, ductsor connections. As such, the rack structure system of the presentdisclosure can be designed to be originally built, or later enlarged,without the need for designing separate conduit for transporting itemsnecessary for the plant-growing cycle. As the rack system is built orenlarged, each extruded piece connects with the other pieces, using thepredesigned hollow cavities to create the necessary conduit, ducts orconnections. This will allow the entire shelving system to function as alarge, simple appliance, with one input for electricity, one input forwater, and one input for air, as well as other built-in mounting pointsand rails for camera systems. This will significantly reduce the costand complexity of existing vertical structure designs.

The present disclosure further relates to a novel harvesting system inwhich the plants are harvested in their plant-grow trays. Instead of themanual harvesting process, the present disclosure relates to a harvestin place process or system. For example, currently a full head oflettuce is cut at its base to detach it from where it has grown. Theleaves are then removed from the head until the core remains, which isthen discarded. The process involves many steps, many of which aremanual. The present disclosure eliminates a substantial portion of theprocess by harvesting the plant while in place (“harvest in place”), byknowing exactly where the center of each plant site is located, due tothe grow tray lid with predetermined plant spacing, the plant can becored in the grow tray, reducing a number of the steps and reduce theneed to transport product.

The present disclosure relates to a harvesting press. The harvestingpress would be a similar or same size as the grow tray, with corersstrategically mounted in a mirror image of the plant sites in the growtray. The corers could vary in diameter based on the particular cropbeing harvested and could also spin, to make the coring process simpler.The harvesting press would drop down in a single motion against the growtray, simultaneously coring all of the plant sites, resulting in thecores remaining in their sites, and the loose leaves separated on thetray. The leaves can then be easily removed for additional processing orpackaging.

The present disclosure further relates to an articulating harvester. Thearticulating harvester consists of a vision system and robotic armsmounted with corers to individually core each head in a grow tray athigh speed. The vision software can also be capable of detecting whichheads of lettuce might not pass quality control standards, and opt toskip harvesting that head, leaving it in place to be discarded. Thisreal time quality control at the time of harvest, will greatly reducethe amount of human labor necessary later in the packaging process, andwill simultaneously increase the quality of the leaves being packaged.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

In the edible plant-growing industry, there is always a need for moreefficient and reliable methods of growing edible plants. Since most ofthe population is located in urban cities and farming historically needsa lot of land, most farming takes place in rural areas. It is estimatedthat by the year 2050, close to 80% of the world's population will livein urban areas and the total population of the world will increase by 3billion people. Such an increase in population, with current farmingprocesses, will no doubt require more land to grow the plants. However,there is an increasing need to grow plants closer to the consumer toreduce costs, both monetary and environmental. As such, an increase inplant production efficiencies will be needed to meet these needs andother needs.

One of the methods being used to obtain these improved efficiencies isthrough vertical farming. Vertical farming is the practice of producingfood in vertically stacked layers, such as in skyscrapers, usedwarehouses, or shipping containers, quite often in urban areas, closerto a majority of the consumers.

In general, vertical farming uses indoor farming techniques andcontrolled-environment agriculture (CEA) technology, where allenvironmental factors can be controlled to increase production. Unliketraditional farming, indoor vertical farming can produce cropsyear-round, thereby multiplying the productivity of the farm. Theseindoor facilities utilize artificial control of light, environmentalcontrol, such as humidity, temperature, and gases, among others. Somevertical farms use techniques similar to greenhouses, where naturalsunlight can be augmented with artificial lighting and metal reflectors,among other techniques. Further, growing plants and food indoors reducesor eliminates conventional plowing, planting, and harvesting by farmmachinery, which can be expensive and harm the environment.

Further, since the crops are sold much closer to where they are grown,the transportation costs, both monetary and environmental, are reduced.This reduction in transportation time may result in a significantreduction in spoilage, infestation, and energy. Research has shown that,especially in under developed nations, as much as 30% of harvested cropsare wasted due to spoilage and infestation.

Also, the success of crops grown through traditional outdoor farming isalways subject to the weather, and issues such as undesirabletemperatures or inconsistent rainfall amounts, along with naturaldisasters such as tornadoes, flooding, wildfires, and severe drought. Onthe other hand, vertical indoor plant farming provides an entirelycontrolled environment, and the success and productivity of the verticalfarm becomes almost completely independent of inconsistent weather.

Further, traditional farming can be a hazardous occupation withparticular risks that often take their toll on the health of humanlaborers, including exposure to infectious diseases, exposure to toxicchemicals commonly used as pesticides and fungicides, and the severeinjuries that can occur when using large industrial farming equipment.Vertical farming, because the environment is strictly controlled andpredictable, reduces some of these dangers.

Additionally, vertical farming, used in conjunction with othertechnologies and socioeconomic practices, could allow cities to expandwhile remaining largely self-sufficient food wise. This would allow forlarge urban centers that could grow without destroying considerablylarger areas of forest to provide food for their people, while alsoproviding additional employment to these expanding urban centers.

Although agricultural robots or “agbots” currently exist and can bedeployed for agricultural purposes, such as harvesting or weed control,there is currently no apparatus, system or method for enhanced verticalfarming that incorporates an improved storage, shelving and growingsystem, configured to allow efficient gravity-based irrigation on a perlevel basis, gravity-based loading and unloading, along with a shuttlesystem incorporating novel plant-growing pallets and germination trays,all under the watch of autonomous or near autonomous (such as on-demand)3D/multispectral cameras mounted on a gyroscopic stabilizer, to obtainclean images and video of the growing plants. Nor is there a system inwhich these images and video, along with other information, isautomatically sent to a database for processing by a central computer inorder to gauge each plant's health, pest and/or disease issues, andplant life cycle; in effect, utilizing the plant itself as the sensor tocontrol its surrounding environment. There is also no system thatincorporates these functions and allows for a harvest in place systemfor processing the growing plants. The present disclosure satisfiesthese needs.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In general, in order to solve the above-mentioned shortcomings in thevertical farming process, the present disclosure utilizes apparatus,system and methods that incorporate an improved storage rack or shelvingsystem used for optimizing the growing process, along with a shuttlesystem for autonomous rotation of novel plant-growing pallets tooptimize growth and significantly reduce labor. The present disclosurefurther contemplates novel plant-growing pallets and expandinggermination trays, along with one or more high definition3D/multispectral cameras, to photograph and record the growing plantsand the plant life cycle. To obtain the optimal pictures and video, the3D cameras can be mounted on telescoping gimbals, on camera vehicles onrails, or using flying drones, and the recorded images and video areautomatically transmitted to a database for processing to gauge planthealth, pest and/or disease issues, and other aspects of the plant lifecycle.

The vertical farming system can also check for lighting being evenlydistributed, dry spots or wet spots throughout the structure (likepuddling on the floor or dry plant sites). The system essentiallyutilizes the plant itself as the sensor to autonomously control itssurrounding environment. Additionally, the system includes capabilitiesfor harvesting the plants in the grow trays in order to reduce theamount of harvesting steps, to eliminate the need for unnecessarytransport/labor, and to simplify the quality control systems.

As such, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide animproved shelving system or grow structure, configured with each shelfor level at a slight decline to allow for more efficient gravity-basedirrigation and gravity-based loading and unloading of trays and pallets.The water from a reservoir is pumped to the uppermost tray of eachlevel, and the grow tray configuration along with the slight decline(approximately 2 degrees) allows the water to run from the firstuppermost tray on that level, through the next tray and to each of therest of the trays on the same level, due to the gravitational force.Alternatively or in combination with, instead of flowing throughout eachlevel, the water can flow through each column. Once the water reachesthe last (and lowest) tray on that particular level, it exits the bottomand is drained back to the reservoir to be recirculated to other traysin the vertical farming system. As such, gravity pulls the pallet orgrow tray into position so that just one strategically located lift inthe load and unload positions, can load and unload an entire cluster ofgrow trays. This eliminates the need for a shuttle needing to traverseevery level.

It is also an object of the present disclosure to provide an automatedlift on the side or end of the structure or shelving unit for both(gravity-based) loading and unloading the trays or plant-growing palletsfrom the shelves. The present disclosure also contemplates a separatelift (two in total) on both sides of the shelving system, as necessary,and the lift able to travel on a rail along the entire length of thecluster of grow structures. In an embodiment, rollers running theentirety of each level eliminates the need for automation along thewhole length of the shelf structure, as the trays or pallets can beloaded and unloaded in a first in/first out order (FIFO), although lastin/first out and other loading and unloading protocols are contemplated,depending on the lift system used. In doing so, a single automated liftcan load or unload all levels of the structure. The lift ties into aconveyor system that can transport the plant-growing pallets to a numberof locations, including facilitating transportation of the trays to thefarmer, instead of the other way around. This system will significantlyreduce the labor needed on a vertical farm.

Additionally, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide,either alone or in combination with the gravity-based grow structure, ashuttle system for accessing the particular trays or plant-growingpallets. The grow structure system and shuttle system can be built fromstandard pallet racking, similar to the pushback grow structure,however, in this instance, all the levels in the shuttle system will behorizontal and the grow trays or pallets will be accessed by shuttles.In the preferred embodiment, one shuttle can service an entire growrack, as the shuttle can be transported between levels by a lift andmove across the length of each level. However, the present disclosurefurther contemplates that multiple shuttles, one on each level, or evenmultiple shuttles on each level can be used to effectuate access to eachtray or pallet. As described herein, all three systems, gravity-based,single-shuttle and multi-shuttle can be incorporated separately or incombination with one or two of the other systems.

In an embodiment the objective of the present disclosure is to useclusters of back-to-back grow racks. In doing so, each cluster consistsof two back-to-back grow racks of any length. Each cluster will have oneor two lifts, which will be configured to transport a shuttle or thegrow tray itself to any level in that cluster, thus enabling the lift topick any grow tray on any level and then deliver it to a centralconveyor belt system, if needed. As such, a shuttle or the grow tray cantransport itself from cluster to cluster by way of a ground level railsystem that connects to each cluster, and a single shuttle could serviceevery single grow tray position in any cluster on the floor, and deliverthat grow tray to the central conveyor system. Additional shuttles canbe added to the same infrastructure as the need for throughput increasesand the system, as a whole, is scalable.

It is also an object of the present disclosure that the grow trays orpallets will be accessed (for moving or removing) using a forklift, orarms, conveyors, or any other manner as understood by one havingordinary skill in the art. In the preferred embodiment, each shuttlewill accommodate a 4 foot×4 foot grow tray, although many other sizetrays can be used within the scope of the disclosure.

It is yet another object of the present disclosure that the grow traysor plant-growing pallets will be configured to grow produce directlyinside the pallet, as well as being configured for easy transportationby forklift (or arms, conveyor, etc.) The plant-growing pallets will beengineered for sanitary purposes by reducing areas where water andimpurities can congregate. This unitary, one-piece design will helpreduce plant disease and other problems with growing plants in such astructure, possibly thermoformed.

Additionally, it is another object of the present disclosure that eachgrow tray can be configured with a cover with multiple holes that willallow the plant to grow through the holes and the top of the cover willbe reflective to optimize the amount of light that is provided to theplants. As such, the configuration will reflect light from the source tothe underside of the plants that might not receive as much light. Thiswill increase the effectiveness of the light source. The grow trayconfiguration also includes inlet and outlet ports or holes to allowwater to cascade from one tray's outlet port to the adjacent tray'sinlet port. This configuration allows for complete irrigation by fillingthe highest tray with water and letting the water move (through gravity)from one tray to the next until it reached the lowest tray, where thewater can be removed and recirculated as necessary. This tray designeliminates the need for a water supply line to every grow tray,increases the levels of dissolved oxygen in the water to enhance plantgrowth, and eliminates the need for bell siphons.

Another aspect of the present invention includes expanding germinationtrays comprising a tray similar to the currently used trays, topropagate seeds in, but configured with joints and hinges to expand tothe proper spacing necessary for mature plants to grow properly andwithout the normal shock the plants receive upon replanting. The presentdisclosure, describes a system with only a few plant sites, but atypical plant-grow tray may have anywhere from 10-150 plant sites.

It is yet another object of the present disclosure that the grow traysor plant-growing pallets will be configured such that the inside of thetray or pallet may have ridges to assist in directing the water to allinternal areas in the grow tray, so that each plant site will be exposedto and receive water. The plant-growing pallets will also containstrategically located holes to allow for proper draining, as describedabove, and for emptying into the adjacent grow tray. The floor of thegrow tray may be slightly inclined, preferably 1 to 5 degrees, to assistand allow water to flow from one side of the tray to the other, and mayfurther include a bell siphon, or similar device, which will be locatedover the drain hole to allow the grow tray to fill to a certain waterlevel before draining out.

Another object of the present disclosure is a novel water supply anddraining system. In an alternative embodiment not using the adjacenttray draining system, any number of grow trays can sit on top of a levelof rollers, with the grow trays jutting out slightly on either end ofthe rollers. Under the rollers, and spanning the entire length of thelevel, and having a width larger than the tray itself, is a trough styledrain. The purpose of this trough drain is so that the water supply canfeed directly into the grow tray and then drain out of the opposite endof the grow tray into the trough drain. If a pallet is absent from itsposition, i.e., it has been unloaded, the water supply will still feeddirectly into the trough drain and recirculate back into the systemsnutrient reservoir. The trough will be wider than the rollers so thatany water being supplied or drained does not make any contact with therollers.

Additionally, the rollers will be positioned at an angle towards thedrain, so that supplied water will be pulled by gravity towards the growtray's drain hole. The rollers will also be angled towards the growrack's lift, keeping in line with the gravity pulled system. By havingthese two angles or slants, the water is forced by gravity towards thedrain, while the grow tray is forced by gravity towards its unloadinglocation.

Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a novel lightingsystem. Depending on the particular crop, the distance from the lightsource to the plant canopy can improve the growth of the plant.Historically, vertical farmers would need to build an entire grow rackto the particular distance specification for the crop beingcontemplated, and would mount the LED bars directly to a unistrut, oranother fixed location, in the pallet racking. Once the grow rack isbuilt, it is difficult to adjust the distance of the light to the plantcanopy without disassembling the entire rack. Instead, in an embodiment,the LED lighting bars are configured to be moved for different heightsfor different crops. A wire level can hook directly into the palletracking holes, and the LED lighting bars would be attached. In thismanner, if the lighting bars needed to be adjusted to change thedistance from the LED lights to the plant canopy, the wire level isunhooked and moved to the desired height, without disassembling theentire section thereby allowing farmers to adjust the distance of thelight to the plant canopy on demand, either manually or automatically(the wire level could be attached to rods and gears to be movedautomatically based on the plant's maturity)

It is yet another object of the present disclosure to provide anautomated lighting system in which lighting bars are integrated into alighting platform. The lighting platform is connected to the shelvingsystem, but can be raised and lowered independently above the grow traysand plants using a motor, precise enough to provide feedback to thevertical farming system about the distance the lighting bars are fromthe growing plants throughout the life of each plant. A history isgenerated, and incorporated with information from sensors in the growtrays or integrated into the vertical farming system itself, to beincluded in a database of all of the similar plants for optimizing thegrowth of the plants. Lighting platforms in the same system can becontrolled separately so that each tray/pallet receives the optimallight spacing and light intensity for the cultivar that is growing init. This allows multiple crops to be grown in the same structure, eachin their own optimized environment.

It is yet another object of the present disclosure, in addition tocreating an optimal plant-growing environment in which the plant is themain sensor and provides feedback to the system to optimize growingperformance, to utilize the automated lighting platform to reduce bothlabor and energy costs and thus generate labor and energy cost savings.As described above, based on the plant canopy's height at any point inthe plant's life cycle, the lighting platform is configured toautonomously adjust the lighting fixture height above the crops tomaintain a constant, optimal position throughout crop growth cycle,thereby eliminating the need for daily, manual adjustments. Thesecontinuous adjustments allow the lighting fixtures to be positioned at aminimum distance from the crops throughout the growth cycle. Maintainingthe lighting fixtures at a minimal height above crops allows for theutilization of less powerful (i.e., lower wattage) lighting fixtures (orstandard-power lighting fixtures at lower power consumption ratesthrough dimming schema). Additionally and as described herein, the noveltray design may include reflective covers to reflect the lighting to theunderside of the plant thereby increasing the effectiveness of thelighting element and reducing the need for more power. Maintaining thisminimum light fixture height (along with the reflective cover)autonomously produces the required light intensity needed for plants togrow efficiently at a reduced, and sometimes greatly reduced wattage,therefore reducing the cost. This resolves one of the major expenses inthe vertical farm industry: high power consumption.

It is yet another object of the present disclosure to provide a camerasystem for taking photographs and video of the growing plants at eachstage of development. As described herein, these cameras can beincorporated into the vertical farming system in a number of ways,including through either one or more of high definition cameras locatedon telescoping poles; using a camera vehicle that houses one or morecameras and is attached to a rail or rail system; and autonomous flyingdrones, flying preprogrammed routes. Each of these systems will greatlyreduce or eliminate certain labor costs such as monitoring the plantsfor disease and care purposes. One or more cameras can also bepermanently mounted onto the vertical farming system in strategicplaces.

The system can incorporate high definition cameras to record the lifecycle of the plants. These types of cameras provide high-resolutionimages and video of the growing plants. Cameras can utilize physicalfilters (e.g., low-pass, high-pass, band-pass) to highlight vegetation(or the absence of) within an image. Additionally, digital imagefiltering and manipulation (i.e. digital image analysis; digital imageprocessing; computer vision) facilitate the real-time identification ofindividual plants (or tray canopies) in order to track and quantifyplant growth, plant growth rate and biotic and abiotic stress. Digitalimage processing may include one or more of the following techniques:thresholding (static and variable), erosion, dilation, color spacemanipulation, image channel manipulation and pixel value normalizationand transformation schema. Digital filters and digital imagemanipulation improve and expedite contour detection, contour centerscalculations, image histogram analysis, comparisons, and correlationbetween pixel (i.e. digital) representation and actual crop canopy area(i.e. physical units). Real-time quantification of plant canopy areas(and temporal changes in plant canopy areas) are used to autonomouslyadjust light intensity and/or photoperiod to maintain optimum lightquantity throughout the growth cycle; as well as to compare growth rateswith established crop models (i.e. historical data) to gauge planthealth and vigor. Early detection of plant stress (andelimination/alleviation of it) is fundamental to the consistentproduction of high value crops. Therefore, in addition to autonomouslymodifying environmental conditions (e.g. light intensity, photoperiod,air speed, air temperature, water temperature, humidity) upon detectionand identification of a plant/crop abnormality, the system alsotransmits and logs an alert to operators. Each of these systems willgreatly reduce or eliminate certain labor costs such as monitoring theplants for disease and care purpose.

It is yet another object of the present disclosure to provide autonomousflying smart drones that land on charging mats or bases, when not in usefor charging purposes, and follow a preprogrammed flight pattern(usually at night, but can be scheduled or on demand) to obtain imagesand video (and possibly infrared images, among others) of the growingplants and the grow structure (i.e., system) itself. These recordedimages and video, along with other information, such as temperature andhumidity at particular times and locations, is automatically sent to acomputer database for processing in order to gauge the health of thesystem as a whole along with each plant's health, pest and/or diseaseissues, and plant life cycle. The system can also check for lightingbeing evenly distributed, dry spots or wet spots throughout thestructure (like puddling on the floor or dry plant sites). This systemwill therefore allow itself to automatically “flag” any potential issuesfor a human to review.

It is yet another object of the present disclosure to provide a novelrack structure manufacturing system in which the rack is made up ofpredesigned structure, such as extruded aluminum or extruded plastic,and uses hollow cavities for transporting water, electricity, cool andwarm air and humidity from one location on the rack structure to one ormore locations on the rack structure, without the need for separateconduit, ducts or connections. The rack structure system of the presentdisclosure can be designed to be originally built, or later enlarged,without the need for designing (or redesigning) separate conduit fortransporting items necessary for the plant-growing cycle. As the racksystem is built, or later enlarged, each rack system component connectswith the other components, using the predesigned hollow cavities tocreate the necessary conduit, ducts or connections. This will allow theentire grow structure to function as large, simple appliance, with oneinput for electricity, one input for water, and one input for air, aswell as other built-in mounting points and rails for camera systems.This will significantly reduce the cost and complexity of existingvertical structure designs.

It is yet another object of the present disclosure to provide a novelharvesting system, either a harvesting press or an articulatingharvester, in which the plants are harvested in their plant grow trays.Instead of the manual harvesting process, the present disclosure relatesto a harvest in place process or system. The harvesting press usesmultiple corers strategically mounted in a mirror image of the plantsites in the grow tray. The corers could vary in diameter based on theparticular crop being harvested and might also spin, to make the coringprocess simpler. The harvesting press would drop down in a single motionagainst the grow tray, simultaneously coring all of the plant sites,resulting in the cores remaining in their sites, and the loose leavesseparated on the tray. The leaves can then be removed in a number ofdifferent ways for additional processing or packaging. The articulatingharvester, on the other hand, consists of a vision system and roboticarms mounted with corers to individually core each head in a grow trayat high speed, removing the leaves for processing and/or packaging. Asdescribed herein, the vision software can also be capable of detectingwhich heads of lettuce might not pass quality control, and opt to skipharvesting that particular head, leaving it in place to be discarded,and potentially reducing the amount of human labor necessary at a latertime in the packaging process, while increasing the quality of theleaves being packaged.

These and other aspects, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will become more readily apparent from the attached drawingsand the detailed description of the preferred embodiments, which follow.

DRAWINGS

The preferred embodiments of the disclosure will be described inconjunction with the appended drawings provided to illustrate and not tothe limit the disclosure, where like designations denote like elements,and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an improved vertical farming system comprising apushback grow structure in accordance with one embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates an improved vertical farming system comprising ashuttle structure in accordance with one embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a prior art plant grow tray used in vertical farmingsystems and methods;

FIG. 4 illustrates a prior art plastic pallet used transportation andstorage of boxes and the like;

FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate an improved plant grow tray for vertical farmingsystems in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 5D-5G illustrate an improved plant grow tray for vertical farmingsystems in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 6A-6C illustrate an improved expanding plant germination tray andcutting apparatus for vertical farming systems in accordance with oneembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 7A-7D illustrate camera systems used for accessing inaccessiblelocations and taking images and video of objects at those locations;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram view of an exemplary embodiment of a verticalfarming system utilizing autonomous flying drones.

FIG. 9 illustrates an improved vertical farming system comprising aclustered grow rack and inter-cluster shuttle system in accordance withone embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates an improved vertical farming system comprising anovel water supply, drain system and rollers for grow racks inaccordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 illustrates an improved vertical farming system comprising anovel modular lighting system in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent disclosure; and

FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate improved vertical farming systems comprisingan alternative novel modular lighting system in accordance with oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 14A-14B illustrate improved vertical farming systems comprising anautomatic harvesting systems in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to thesame or similar features in the various views, the present disclosurepertains to an improved vertical farming system for autonomously growingedible plants, using improved stacking, storage and shelving units areconfigured to allow for easy access and gravity-based irrigation andfeeding, alone or in combination with an improved shuttle system forautonomous rotation of the growing plants throughout the improvedvertical farming system.

The innovative vertical farming system further comprises novel growtrays or plant-growing pallets, and incorporates camera systems,including telescoping arms, camera vehicles and autonomous smart drones,fly preprogrammed routes; all with 3D and multispectral cameras (andother recording instruments) to photograph and record the growing plantsand obtain vertical farming metrics, as necessary. The images and otherdata recorded being automatically sent to a database for processing andfor gauging plant health, pest and/or disease issues, and plant lifecycle. The system can also check for lighting being evenly distributed,dry spots or wet spots throughout the structure (like puddling on thefloor or dry plant sites).

The innovative vertical farming system also comprises autonomous ornearly autonomous harvesting systems for harvesting plants in the growtrays. The harvesting systems disclosed include articulating harvestersthat can autonomously determine the location or center of the plant tobe harvested and use telescoping arms to move the harvester into theproper location before harvesting the plant. Alternatively, a harvestpress uses a device sized similar to the grow tray for harvesting all ofthe plants in the tray at once in a single motion. The harvestedmaterial can be packaged for consumption or other use, and the remainingcores (in tray) can be discarded or further processed.

FIG. 1 shows an improved vertical farming system 10 comprising ashelving system or pushback grow structure 12, configured with multipleshelves or levels 14, each shelf or level 14 at a slight decline toallow for more efficient gravity-based irrigation and gravity-basedloading and unloading. In the preferred embodiment, the shelf 14 declineangle is between 1 and 5 degrees and preferably 2 degrees, however,other angles can be used for the same purpose. The pushback growstructure 12 can be any length from a few feet to a thousand feet long,and based on the description herein, the only limitation on the heightof the structure 12 is the height of the building (not shown).

In practice, water or a nutrient solution 20 (for ease of reference, wewill refer to water, but the present disclosure contemplates anysolution that can be transported throughout the system) from a reservoir16 is pumped to the uppermost tray of each level (here shown as 18 inthe upper level), and the slight 1 to 5-degree decline allows the water20 to run from the first uppermost tray 18 on that level 14, through therest of the trays 22-30 (as examples) on the same level 14, due to thegravitational force, or down each column as described above. Once thewater reaches the last (and lowest) tray 30 on that particular level 14,it exits the bottom 32 and is drained back to the reservoir 16 to berecirculated to other trays on the pushback grow structure 12.

FIG. 1 also shows an automated lift structure or lift 34 on the side ofthe pushback grow structure or shelving unit 12 for both loading andunloading the trays or plant-growing pallets 18 and 22-30 from theshelves 14. Rollers 36 running the entirety of each level 14 reduce theneed for automation along the whole length of the shelf structure 12, asit is a “push back” loading system and the trays or pallets 18 and 22-30can be loaded and unloaded, with a gravitational assistance, in a firstin/first out order (although other loading and unloading protocols arecontemplated). In doing so, a single automated lift 34, which cantraverse between the different levels 14, can load and unload all levels14 of the structure 12. The lift 34 ties into a conveyor system 38 thatcan transport the grow trays or plant-growing pallets 18 and 22-30. Inthe preferred embodiment, gravity pulls the pallet or grow tray 18 and22-30 into position so that just one or two lifts 34 can load and unloadan entire level 14.

The preferred embodiment comprises two lifts 34 per shelving system 12,regardless of the number of shelves 14. This eliminates the need for aseparate lift structure 34 on every level. As one grow tray 18 isremoved form a shelf 14, gravity and the slant or decline of the shelf14 moves the next grow tray 18 into the location left vacant by theremoved grow tray 18. Additionally, after removal of a grow tray 30 on ashelf 14, the remaining grow trays 18 22-28 on that shelf 14 move overone place due to gravity and the rollers 36.

FIG. 2 shows an improved vertical farming system 10 comprising a shuttlesystem 40 for accessing the particular trays or plant-growing pallets42. The shuttle system 40, which is used for autonomous rotation of thecrops, can be used either alone or in combination with the pushback growstructure 12. Although shuttle systems 40 with multi-level scalabilitycurrently exist, such as the one distributed by Invata Intralogistics,the novel system may comprise, at a minimum, combining the pushback growstructure 12 with a multi-level shuttle system to improve the plantgrowth process. As such, the vertical farming system 10 can seeimprovements incorporating an irrigation system using the reservoir 16with slightly sloped levels 14 (FIG. 1), alongside the shuttle system40.

Likewise, the pushback grow structure 12 and the shuttle system 40 canbe built from standard pallet racking materials and designs. However, ifthe shuttle system is used without the grow structure 12, all the levels44 will be horizontal (no slope) and the plant-growing pallets 42 willbe accessed by shuttles 46. In the preferred embodiment, one shuttle 46can access an entire grow rack level 44. If the shuttle 46 istransported between levels 44 by a lift (not shown), it can then moveacross the length of each level 44. The present disclosure contemplatesthat multiple shuttles 46, one on each level 44, or even multipleshuttles 46 on each level 44 can be used to access to each tray orpallet 42.

The present disclosure further comprises a shuttle system 40 in whichthe plant-growing pallets 42 will be accessed (for moving or removing)by the shuttle 46 using a forklift, or arms, or any other manner asunderstood by one having ordinary skill in the art (not shown). In anembodiment, each shuttle will be able to access and move or remove a 4foot×4 foot plant-growing pallet 42, although other size trays 42 can beused to obtain the same results. In practice, the shuttle 46 will bemoved into a proper location to access the pallet 42. A forklift or armswill grasp the pallet 42, either from underneath or from the side, andremove the pallet 42 from the location. Once the shuttle 46 has securedthe pallet 42, the system will instruct the shuttle 46 as to where thatparticular pallet 42 must be moved to (or removed) from the level 44 forfurther processing. Similar to the pushback grow structure 12, theshuttle system 40 can be used in conjunction with a conveyor system 38,as shown in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5A through 5C show various grow trays 18 and/orplant-growing pallets 42. FIG. 3 shows a prior art plant grow tray 50,such as that distributed by Botanicare. The tray is 4 feet by 4 feet andmade from thick ABS plastic, with a smooth plastic surface and largedrain channels 52.

FIG. 4 shows a prior art Economy Plastic Pallet 60, but not for growingplants. The plastic pallet is distributed by Uline Industries and isconfigured to stack on top of one another for easy storage when not inuse. The pallet 60 has nine legs 62 and provides access for a forkliftfrom all four sides. The 9 legs 62 provide additional support and thepallets 60 are either 48 inches by 40 inches, or 48 inches by 42 inches.

FIGS. 5A through 5C show the present disclosure of a grow trays orplant-growing pallets 70 configured to grow produce directly inside thepallet 70. Similar to the 9-legged pallet 60, the plant-growing pallet70 provides a stable tray for placing on the pushback grow structure 12or the shuttle system 40. The plant-growing pallet 70 is configured foreasy access and transportation by a forklift, robotic arms, etc. and theplant-growing pallet 70 can be configured for 4, 9 or any other numberof legs (to hold the plants, or to hold a tray that is holding theplants). The grow tray 70 may also have a smooth bottom with no legs,and be slanted on the bottom to better accommodate the slanting ordeclining shelf 14 or to facilitate the transport of water 20 for betterirrigation purposes.

FIG. 5A shows a side view of the plant-growing pallet 70, showing two ofthe four legs 72. The lift 34 can access the plant-growing pallet 70from any one of four directions. FIG. 5B shows a top view of theplant-growing pallet 70 with the four legs 72. FIG. 5C shows a top viewof the floor of the plant-growing pallet 70, with ridges 74 and a drainhole 76. The tray may be sloped (again 1 to 5 degrees) to allow thewater to move to the drain hole 76. A bell siphon or similar device maybe used to ensure that water levels do not overflow from the grow trays.

The plant-growing pallets will be engineered for sanitary purposes byreducing areas where water and impurities can congregate. This unitary,one-piece design will help reduce plant disease and other problems withgrowing plants in such a structure, possibly manufactured through athermoform process.

FIGS. 5D through 5G show the preferred embodiment grow trays orplant-growing pallets 200 configured to grow produce directly inside thegrow tray 200. The disclosure may reference grow tray 70 or grow tray200, although each of the novel grow trays disclosed herein can be usedin the improved vertical farming system 10 disclosed herein, and can beused interchangeably with other grow trays or plant-growing palletsdisclosed herein and referred to as 18, 22-30, 42, 70, 80, 200.

Similar to the description above, FIGS. 5D and 5E show a top view andside view of the grow tray 200 respectively, with the bottom of the growtray 202 shown, where the water and nutrients will be placed to waterand feed the plants. In the preferred embodiment, the grow tray is 48.80inches long 204 by 48.69 inches wide 206, and is tapered with a 4.7 inchheight at the tall end 208, and a 2.47 inch height at the short end 210,providing for a 2 degree slant 212 from one side 214 to the other 216.

At the tall end 208 of the grow tray 200, there are one or more ports218 to allow water to cascade from one tray 200 to the adjacent tray 200on the shelf. In FIG. 5D there are three ports 218. Thus, due to theangle of the vertical farming system shelves, when the grow trays 200are placed next to each other on the shelf, water can be poured into thehighest tray 200 and once it reaches the port 218 level 220 of the growtray 200, water will cascade out through the port 218 and into theadjacent tray 200. In the example shown in FIG. 5D, each of the threeports 218 tapers from 5.44 inches to 5.00 inches to direct the waterinto the next tray 200.

FIG. 5F shows two grow trays 200 adjacent each other, such that the tallend 208 of one tray 200 is above the short end 210 of the adjacent tray200. In this configuration, water 222 can be seen exiting the port 218and entering the short end 210 of the adjacent tray 200. This will berepeated when each tray fills with water 20 to the level of the port 218and pours into the adjacent tray 200.

FIG. 5G shows a cover 224 for the novel grow tray 200. The cover 224 hasmultiple holes 226 for growing the plants (through the holes 226). Inthe example shown in FIG. 5G, there are 72 different holes 226 forgrowing plants, although more or less plants can be grown depending onthe configuration, which may be due to the type of plant.

The grow tray cover 224 also contains port cover portions 228 forcovering the ports 218 and reducing spillage. The grow tray cover 224also contains cover indents 230 where the ports 218 from the adjacenttray 200 will connect to make sure the overflow water 20 from theadjacent tray 200 is properly received. When the last tray 200 on theshelf fills with water, the overflow will pour into a gutter orreservoir 16, where it can be either disposed of or reused. This systemand the novel grow tray 200 allows for irrigating multiple trays andmany plants merely by pouring water into the highest tray 200 at theheight of the shelf 14, and collecting the water 20 as it pours out ofthe ports 218 of the lowest tray 200 at the short end 210 of that tray200.

FIGS. 6A through 6C show the present disclosure and the related novelexpanding seed germination tray 80 of the vertical farming system 10,configured to grow produce directly inside each cell section 82 of thegermination tray 80 for a longer period of time, without the need toreplant the seeds into a different cell section 82 for additional room.The expanding germination tray 80 is meant to reduce the amount of“shock” that a plant's root system goes through every time the rootsystem is moved or replanted. The germination tray 80 can also be usedin combination or conjunction with the grow tray 200 design disclosedherein.

Typically, a Rockwool tray is inserted into a propagation tray where theseeds will germinate. Other types include cocoa coir, and other growmedia. Then, the Rockwool tray is separated into parts and transplantedinto a Styrofoam raft, which has more appropriate spacing for matureplants.

FIGS. 6A and 6B of the present disclosure show an expanding germinationtray 80 comprising a tray similar to the currently used trays (FIG. 6A),to propagate seeds in, but configured with joints 84 and hinges 86 toexpand (FIG. 6B) to the proper spacing necessary for mature plants togrow properly and without the normal shock the plants receive uponreplanting.

Additionally, FIG. 6C shows an expanding germination tray cutting dieapparatus 88 for creating the novel expanding germination tray 80. Asunderstood by one having ordinary skill in the art, the cutting dieapparatus 88 is a near identical size to the expanding tray 80, bututilizes razor edges to assist in cutting the Rockwool expanding trays80 into parts before expanding. Further, the cutting die apparatus 88may be used to just cut the Rockwool into sections so that the trayeasily expands.

The improved vertical farming system 10 further comprises a camerasystem or systems to photograph, take video, record and monitor theplants during the entire plant life cycle. FIGS. 7A through 7D show thedifferent types of camera systems in accordance with the presentdisclosure. Since farms, including vertical farms, rely on either humanbeings or multiple cameras to monitor crops, the novel solutiondescribed herein allows the use of a single camera to monitor andanalyze many plants on different levels and even in different areas ofthe vertical farming system.

FIG. 7A shows a telescoping camera system 240 in which the camera 242 islocated at the end of a telescoping arm 244, and utilizes a gimbalsystem 246 to move the camera to the desired location. The lifts 34described herein that load and unload grow pallets 200 from the shelvingsystem or grow structure system 12, already are configured to traverseeach shelf or level 14, including moving from one group of shelves 14 toanother. The camera system 240 utilizes those existing lifts 34 in themonitoring and recording system by moving the camera system 240 fromshelf 14 to different shelf 14. Programming the lifts 34 to traverseevery load and unload position (while not actually loading or unloadinga grow pallet 200) and extending the telescoping arm 244 into the shelf14 and above the plant canopy, the camera 242 can then record andanalyze each and every plant on the particular level 14. In doing so,the information recorded can flag any potential issues.

By travelling to every load and/or unload position, remaining on thelift 34, and inserting the telescoping arm 244 into each level, one lift34 and one camera 240 can monitor, photograph and/or video every growtray 200 position on the level 14. Since the telescoping arm 244 can beused from both sides of the shelf (load and unload), the telescoping arm244 need only travel half of the length of the shelf or level 14, whichin turn can minimize cost and maximize the speed of vision analysis.This camera system 240 and the accompanying vision analysis softwareallows the vertical farming system 10 to analyze the maximum number ofplants with a minimum number of cameras 242, saving a significant amountof cost, and also greatly simplifying the system.

FIGS. 7B and 7C show a different type of camera system, the autonomousvehicle camera system 250 in which an autonomous vehicle 252 can beloaded and unloaded onto rails 254 above the grow trays 200 to travelthe distance of the shelf 14 and take pictures or video using anin-vehicle camera 256. The vehicle 252 can travel by the use of one ormore powered wheels 258 along with passive wheels 260 in multipleconfigurations, to move along the rail 254 (above or below).Additionally, the system 250 can be designed to use a single rail 254and the vehicle 252 can hang from the rail 254, in an example.

Further, similar to the telescoping camera system 240, the vehiclecamera system 250 can use the existing lift system 34, but theautonomous vehicle 252 can instead be loaded and unloaded onto each rail254. As such, the vehicle camera system 250 can be loaded onto the rail254 of one level, where it will travel above the shelf 14, and takephotographs and video, and then be loaded back onto the lift 34, whereit will be raised or lowered to another level 14, and loaded onto therail 254 of that level, for more recording and monitoring. The vehiclecamera system 250 can be wirelessly connected to the vertical farmingsystem 10 so that any information obtained can be transmitted to thedatabase 96 (FIG. 8) in real time.

FIG. 7D shows yet another example of recording and monitoring the plantlife cycle, using an autonomous flying smart drone 90 for flyingpreprogrammed routes at preset times or on demand. The flying smartdrone 90 incorporate one or more cameras 92, such as a 3D ormultispectral camera. As described herein, these types of camerasprovide high-resolution images and video of the growing plants and canalso be incorporated into the camera system 240 and/or vehicle camerasystem 250 disclosed herein. For stability purposes, the cameras aremounted on a gyroscopic stabilizer, however, it is contemplated that theflying smart drone 90 will be able to photograph every plant in thevertical farming system 10 environment.

The autonomous flying smart drones 90 are also programmed to land on andconnect to their charging mats or bases (not shown), and follow apreprogrammed flight pattern (usually at night) to obtain images andvideo (and possibly infrared images, among others) of the growingplants. These recorded images and video, along with other informationfrom all of the camera systems disclosed, such as temperature andhumidity at particular times and locations, is automatically sent to acomputer database 96 for processing in order to gauge the health of thesystem 10 as a whole, along with each plant's health, pest and/ordisease issues, and plant life cycle. The system 10 can also check forlighting being evenly distributed dry spots or wet spots throughout thestructure (like puddling on the floor or dry plant sites).

FIG. 8 is an exemplary block diagram of the vertical farming system 10utilizing a drone 90 or camera system 240 or vehicle camera system 250along with a computer system to control the cameras, access the imagesand videos captured by the camera systems 90, 240, 250, and determiningthe health of the vertical farming system 10 as a whole, along with eachplant's health, including any pest and/or disease, and each plant's lifecycle.

As such, the present disclosure further comprises custom software and agraphical user interface (GUI) that allows the system to autonomously ornear-autonomously control one or more of the camera systems 90, 240,250. The autonomous or manual control allows for the capture of imagesand video of some or all of the growing plants using a camera or cameras92, 242, 256. Along those lines, the present invention contemplates theability to electronically transmit plant-growing data to the computersystem of the vertical farming system 10 for automatic or manual planthealth determination.

As a non-limiting example of a processor system, FIG. 8 is a blockdiagram view of an exemplary vertical farming system 10 for growingplants. The vertical farming system 10 may include a plurality of camerasystems 90, 240, 250 (three such combinations are represented in FIG.8), a vertical farming support server 94 (which may be referred toherein as a vertical farming platform server 94), a vertical farmingdatabase 96, a vertical farming application programming interface(“API”) 98, and a system user access 100, whereby vertical farmingsystem users and others, such as distributors, consumers, restaurantowners, end users, programmers, etc., can access the vertical farmingsystem 10 data for monitoring the growing plants, and upgrading thesoftware, as necessary, among other reasons. The vertical farming systemuser access 100 can be a single site or multiple sites depending on theneeds of the system 10. In the preferred embodiment, multiple sites arecontemplated.

The present disclosure will be described with reference to embodimentsin which the vertical farming system 10 utilize a vehicle camera system250 autonomously, although all of the different camera systems 90, 240,250 are contemplated. The vertical farming system users access the datathrough the system user access 100, connected to the vertical farmingAPI 98. It should be understood, however, that the present disclosure isnot limited to the preferred embodiment detailed herein; rather, thesystem, methods and functionality illustrated and described herein maybe effected in other ways as understood by one having ordinary skill inthe art.

For example, a restaurant owner may use one application program (“app”)on a smart phone to access certain information about the verticalfarming system 10, while a programmer may use an app to upgrade thesoftware, and a system user may use an app to manually control anautonomous vehicle 252 to capture information about a particular plantor set of plants. Accordingly, the vertical farming system users mayaccess the vertical farming API 98 through the vertical farming supportserver 94 or through the system user access 100.

Each of the camera systems 90, 240, 250 may be configured to becontrolled autonomously with an onboard program, which may include atravel program, a docking and charging program and hardware and softwareto capture plant images and video and transmit the information to thevertical farming support server 94. Additionally, the vertical farmingsystem 10 may include control of the different camera systems 90, 240,250 autonomously or manually through the vertical farming support server94 or through the system user access 100.

The vertical farming system 10 (which may be referred to herein simplyas “the system 10”) may include and provide a graphical user interface(GUI) having a number of features described above and below. Portions,or all, of the GUI may be provided by the vertical farming supportserver 94, in an embodiment. Accordingly, in an embodiment, the verticalfarming support server 94 may be configured to perform one or moreoperations, methods, etc. described herein that enable various control,calculations and determinations for the system 10.

The vertical farming support server 94 may be configured to perform anumber of functions to assist vertical farming system users in theirdecisions. For example, the vertical farming support server 94 may beconfigured to provide a daily or nightly control of the camera system90, 240, 250 to capture the plant images and video, along with readingsensors in the vertical farming infrastructure or located on the camerasystems 90, 240, 250 to determine if the vertical farming system 10 isoperating within certain parameters. The vertical farming support server94 can be configured to contact vertical farming users if themeasurements exceed the acceptable range. These routines, programs andprotocols may be obtained from the vertical farming support server 94,in an embodiment, from the vertical farming API 98 and/or from thesystem user access 100.

The vertical farming support server 94 may be further configured tostore data in and retrieve data from the vertical farming database 96.Data stored in the vertical farming database 96 may include camerasystem 90, 240, 250 controls and docking programs in general, rotationof crop programs, specific plant health information, range of acceptabletemperatures and humidity, plant health programs, etc., and similarinformation related to plant health determinations that may be performedthrough the vertical farming system 10.

The vertical farming database 96 may be or may include one or more datarepositories including, but not limited to, one or more databases anddatabase types as well as data storage that may not necessarily becolloquially referred to as a “database.” The vertical farming database96 may be configured to store the information described herein, andprograms that may be performed through the vertical farming system 10,along with similar information related to the needs of the verticalfarming system 10.

The vertical farming support server 94 may be in electroniccommunication with the camera systems 90, 240, 250 and with the verticalfarming system users to obtain and deliver updated information, programsand routines, and other information, in an embodiment. In embodiments,the vertical farming support server 94 may be owned, controlled oroperated by the vertical farming system user, a separate verticalfarming facility, or some other entity. Furthermore, the verticalfarming support server 94 may be a single server, or multiple serversacting in a redundant or additive capacity.

In embodiments, the camera systems 90, 240, 250 may be configured toperform one or more of the functions described herein with reference tothe vertical farming support server 94 and/or the vertical farmingsystem 10 or facility. Accordingly, the camera systems 90, 240, 250 maybe in direct electronic communication with the vertical farming supportserver 94, the vertical farming database 96, the vertical farming API,and/or the system user access 100.

The camera systems 90, 240, 250 may include a processor 102 and a memory104, and the vertical farming support server 94 may include a processor102 and a memory 104. The processor 102 may be any appropriateprocessing device (and may be the same or different in each location).The memory 104 may be any volatile or non-volatile computer-readablememory (and may be the same or different in each location). The memory104 may be configured to store instructions that embody one or moresteps, methods, processes, and functions of the camera systems 90, 240,250 and/or the vertical farming support server 94 described herein. Theprocessor 102 may be configured to execute those instructions to performone or more of the same steps, methods, processes, and functions. One ormore of the camera systems 90, 240, 250 and/or the vertical farmingsupport server 94 may be or may include a personal computer or mobiledevice (e.g., tablet, smartphone), in an embodiment.

Instead of, or in addition to, a processor 102, and memory 104, thevertical farming support server 94 and/or one or more of the camerasystems 90, 240, 250 may include a programmable logic device (PLD),application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or other suitableprocessing device (not shown).

The programs and information described herein may be provided, in anembodiment, by both the camera systems 90, 240, 250 and the verticalfarming support server 94. That is, some elements or features of thesystem 10 may be installed on the camera systems 90, 240, 250, and otherelements or features of the platform may be provided by the verticalfarming support server 94 (e.g., on a software-as-a-service (SaaS)basis). For example, the camera systems 90, 240, 250 may provide (i.e.,may have installed) a program that includes a graphical user interfaceof the vertical farming system 10, and the vertical farming supportserver 94 may provide much of the underlying data, programs andprotocol. However, storage and retrieval of data displayed in thevertical farming system 10, calculations performed by or under thevertical farming system 10, and services provided through the verticalfarming system 10 may be performed by one or both of the camera systems90, 240, 250 and the vertical farming support server 94.

FIG. 9 shows an improved vertical farming system 10 (from a differenttop down viewpoint) comprising a shelving system 12, configured withmultiple shelves or levels 14 (see FIG. 1), and comprising a cluster 108configuration of back-to-back grow racks 110. In doing so, each cluster108 consists of two back-to-back grow racks 110 of any length. Eachcluster 108 will have one or two lift structures 34, which will beconfigured to transport a shuttle 46 (see FIG. 2) to any level in thatcluster 108, thus enabling the shuttle 46 to pick any grow tray 200 onany level 14 and then deliver it to a central conveyor belt system 38.As such, a shuttle 46 can transport itself from cluster 108 to cluster108 by way of a ground level rail system 112 that connects to eachcluster 108, and a single shuttle 46 could service every single growtray 200 position in any cluster 108 on the floor, and deliver that growtray 200 to the central conveyor system 38. Additional shuttles 46 canbe added to the same infrastructure, as the need for throughputincreases and the system, as a whole, is scalable.

In an alternative embodiment, the same cluster 108 configuration can beutilized without the need for shuttles 46. Based on the slant of theshelf 14 and the lift 34, each grow tray 200 can be accessed and placedonto the ground level rail system 112 without the need for a shuttle,thereby reducing the cost of the overall vertical farming system 10.Additionally, a hybrid system can be utilized in which the grow trays200 are used without a shuttle 46, while on the shelving system 12 andonce removed for processing by the lift 34, each grow tray 200 is placedonto a shuttle for transport on the ground level rail system 112.

FIG. 10 shows an improved vertical farming system 10 (from a top downviewpoint) comprising a shelving system 12, configured with multipleshelves or levels 14 (see FIG. 1) and comprising a novel water anddraining system 120. In a preferred embodiment, two grow trays 200 cansit on top of a level of rollers 122, jutting out slightly on either endof the rollers 124. Under the rollers 122, and spanning the entirelength of the level 14, and having a width larger than the grow tray 200itself, is a trough style drain 126. The purpose of this trough drain126 is so that the water supply 128 can feed directly into the grow tray200 and then drain 130 out of the opposite end of the grow tray 200 intothe trough drain 126. If a pallet or grow tray 200 is absent from itsposition, i.e., it has been unloaded, the water supply 128 will stillfeed directly into the trough drain 126 and recirculate back into thesystems nutrient reservoir 16 (see FIG. 1). The trough 126 will be wider124 than the rollers 122 so that any water 20 (see FIG. 1) beingsupplied or drained does not make any contact with the rollers 122.

Additionally, the rollers 122 will be positioned at an angle towards thedrain 130, so that supplied water 20 will be pulled by gravity towardsthe grow tray's drain hole 130. The rollers 122 will also be angledtowards the grow rack's lift 34, keeping in line with the gravity pulledpushback system. By having these two angles or slants, the water 20 isforced by gravity towards the drain 130, while the grow tray 200 isforced by gravity towards its unloading location on the conveyor beltstructure 38.

FIG. 11 shows an improved vertical farming system 10 (from a perspectiveviewpoint) comprising a shelving system 12, configured with multipleshelves or levels 14 (see FIG. 1) and comprising a novel modularlighting system 132. The disclosure comprises a wire level 134 that canhook directly into the pallet racking holes 136. Attached to that wirelevel 134, are LED lighting bars 138 (two of them).

To the extent it is determined by the system 10 that the distance fromthe LED lights 138 to the plant canopy grow trays 200 needs to beadjusted, it can be accomplished without disassembling the entireshelving system 12. To move the LED lights 138, the entire wire level134 is unhooked, and moved the desired distance from the plant canopy,completely avoiding the uninstallation and reinstallation of theshelving system 12 and/or LED light bars 138. The process could furtherbe automated by attaching the wire level 134 to a series of rods andgears (not shown) or motors and having the system 10 detect throughsensors and the database 96 when the LED light bars 138 need to be movedand how far to adjust them.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show different perspective views of an alternativeembodiment to the novel modular lighting system 132 in FIG. 11. Thisembodiment includes a motor and feedback for automating the raising andlowering of the lighting bars 138. In FIGS. 12 and 13, the LED lightingbars 138 are integrated into a lighting platform 140, which is connectedto the shelving system 12, but can be raised and lowered above the growtrays 200 using a motor 142, such as a stepper motor, for example.Stepper motors are highly reliable, work in almost any environment, andprovide precise positioning for starting, stopping and reversing.

The motor 142 provides feedback to the vertical farming system 10 as tothe distance the lighting bars 138 are from the grow tray 200 and, ineffect, the growing plants. As such, a history can be generated of thedistance of the lighting bars 138 from a particular grow tray 200 andthe plants in that grow tray 200 during the entire life of the plantsfrom seed to harvest. That history can be included in the database 96 ofall of the similar plants for optimizing the growth of the plants.

Additionally, sensors 144, such as temperature and humidity sensors canbe placed in or incorporated into the grow trays 200 or elsewhere todetermine additional information for the database and for ultimatelyobtaining the optimal temperature and humidity for growing plants. Thesensors 144 can also be incorporated into the shelving system 12 of thevertical farming system 10 so that at any particular time, the system 10knows where a particular grow tray 200 is located and the conditionssurrounding that grow tray 200 during the plant life cycle. Either way,the information obtained from the sensors 144 can be used in conjunctionwith (or in addition to) the distance of the lighting bars 138 at anyparticular time or for the entire life of the plant to further optimizegrowing conditions.

As such, the changing distance of the overhead lighting bar 138, inassociation with the existing database 96 of the vertical farming system10 creates a Dynamic Light Zoom (DLZ), which can be (computer)controlled to maintain constant Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density(PPFD) exposure throughout the plant growth stages (i.e., seedling,vegetative, reproduction). Plant PPFD values are autonomously andautomatically adjusted and/or maintained in real-time through sensor 144data analysis, such as proprietary algorithms (including machinelearning and artificial intelligence) and the raising and lowering ofthe lighting platform 140 containing the lighting bars 138. Asdescribed, sensors 144 include, but are not limited to, distance sensors(e.g., ultrasonic, infrared) and optical sensors (e.g., photodiodes,phototransistors, ultraviolet-cameras, visible Spectrum cameras,near-infrared cameras, infrared cameras, thermographic cameras). Themotor and/or sensors (or sensor systems) can be configured to providefeedback to the vertical farming system as to the distance the lightingbars and/or LED sheets are from the growing plants.

Additionally, and as disclosed herein, the system cameras 92, 242, 256,which can be incorporated into the camera systems 90, 240, 250, couldalso be mounted to the lighting platforms 140 (or other areas on thevertical farming system 10). When the system desires to capture an image(or a video, such as time lapse video), the lighting platform 140 canautonomously raise to an appropriate height to capture as many of theplants as possible, and then autonomously return to the height mostappropriate for optimal plant growth. The cameras described herein,mounted to the DLZ can be instead of or in addition to the cameras 92,242, 256, disclosed herein, with the DLZ mounted cameras have at leastall the same functionality.

The lighting bars or lighting fixtures 138, which can be proprietaryand/or commercially available, are mounted to the lighting platform 140that can be mechanically raised and/or lowered, automatically ormanually. Regardless of the type of raising and lowering of the lightingplatform 140, the system will keep track of the distance and thetemperature/humidity (or any other metrics being monitored by thesensors 144).

The PPFD maintained by the DLZ is user defined and will be revised overtime, depending on the feedback of the growing environment. Lightingbars 138 can be maintained at a specified height above the grow trays200, and thus the growing plant canopy, and the lighting bars 138 can beadjusted autonomously to a height above the growing plant canopy tomaintain a specified PPFD, or a combination of a specified height abovethe growing plant canopy and a specified PPFD exposure to the growingplant canopy.

In accordance with the present disclosure, a novel manufacturing systemfor vertical farming is contemplated in which the parts and materialsused to build and enlarge the rack system 12 are configured to allow forease of building and enlarging without the need for separate conduit,ductwork or electrical connections. The rack system 12 design allows forthe transfer or transport of supplies and resources necessary for plantgrowth without separate connecting designs. The rack structuremanufacturing system utilizes predesigned and preformed materials, suchas extruded aluminum or extruded plastic, comprising hollow cavities,for transporting and transferring irrigation, energy, materials andenvironments from one place to another without the need for separateconduit, ducts or connections.

As a non-limiting example, the rack structure system 12 of the presentdisclosure can be designed to be originally built, or later enlarged,without the need for designing separate conduit for irrigation. The rackstructure system 12 is designed and extruded to include hollow cavitiesfor transferring water from a single input location on the rackstructure 12 to an area where it can be diverted to the grow trays forirrigation purposes. Further, the same rack system 12 can be designedwith additional hollow cavities to allow for irrigation draining oncethe water has matriculated through each of the grow trays 200 on a level14 or in a cluster 108. With this system, once the rack structure 12 isbuilt (without separate water conduit or hoses), the water supply can beconnected to the water input, and the exiting water can be connected tothe drain and the rack structure system 12 will automatically transportwater to each location for irrigation, redistribution or removal,regardless if the rack system 12 is four levels high or eight levelshigh, and if the rack structure 12 has clusters of 300 plants per level(5 grow trays at 60 plants per grow tray), or 1440 plants per level (20grow trays at 72 plants per grow tray).

The same design can be used to transport or force cooling or heating airand/or humidity to the plants. The additional hollow cavities in therack structure 12 allow for cooling or warming air from an HVAC systemto enter the rack at a single location and be transported to variousexit points to cool, heat or humidify the growing plants based on theneeds that the system has determined, ostensibly from sensing theplants. The various exit locations can be vented automatically so thatthe system can determine what each plant needs and control the systemaccordingly. Again, as the rack system 12 is built or enlarged, thehollow cavities will be automatically connected for ease of design andbuild purposes.

The rack structure 12 can also be designed to allow electricity andother necessary energy to be connected at a single point and bedelivered to various points on the rack system for use in lighting,sensors, cameras, and other needs. As the rack system 12 is built orenlarged, each extruded piece connects with the other pieces to createthe necessary conduit, ducts or connections. This will allow the entiregrow structure 12 to function as a large, simple appliance, with oneinput for electricity, one input for water, and one input for air, aswell as other built-in mounting points and rails for camera systems.This will significantly reduce the cost and complexity of existingvertical structure designs.

Additionally, as described above, the environmental database 96 canincorporate information obtained by stationary cameras and/or camerasystems 90, 240, 250 throughout the vertical farming system 10. Further,each grow tray 200 may include a pallet identification 146, such as abarcode, RFID tag or QR code, as understood by one having ordinary skillin the art, allowing the vertical farming system 10 to automaticallykeep track of a particular grow tray 200 or even a particular plant. Assuch, a particular grow tray 200 can be monitored for input (water andfertilizer), information or metrics throughout the plant growth stages(temperature and humidity) and at harvest (time and yield), with theinformation being stored in the database 96 and used to optimize futuregrowing environments.

The present disclosure also comprises an autonomous or near-autonomousharvesting system 300. As described above, when harvesting heads oflettuce for example, the full head must be manually cut at its base todetach it from the ground or from the grow media. Next, the leaves aremanually cut from or removed from the head of lettuce for packaging,until only the core of the head remains, which will be discarded. Assuch, the process involves many steps, and often, multiple individuals.The autonomous harvesting system 300 eliminates a substantial portion ofthis manual process by harvesting in place. This is possible since basedon the improved vertical farming system 10, the location of the centerof each plant site is known for certain. Accordingly, the plant can beharvested in the same grow tray, in a one-step process.

FIGS. 14 A and 14B show the harvesting systems 300 of the presentdisclosure in which the plant is harvested autonomously in the grow trayto reduce harvesting steps and time. FIG. 14A shows an articulatingharvester 300 in accordance with the present disclosure. Thearticulating harvester consists of a base 302 to hold the articulatingharvester 300 in place, and articulated robot arm 304, which can beprogrammed to move in multiple axes so that each plant on a particulargrow tray can be accessed, and a corer 306 at the end of the robot arm304. The corer 306 can core or harvest each plant in the grow tray 200one at a time to separate the leaves from the head of lettuce (forexample) at high speed.

The leaves can then be removed for additional processing or packaging,either by tipping the grow tray 200 with a pneumatic arm or piston (notshown), causing all of the loose leaves to fall onto a conveyor belt orbasket 308, resulting in only the wanted leaves 310 being harvested,with no waste or unwanted plant matter commingled with the leaves 310.The remaining cores 312 can be placed into a hopper 314 for furtherprocessing or discarding.

The articulating harvester also consists of a vision system and softwarecapable of detecting which heads of lettuce might not pass qualitycontrol standards, and then skip the harvesting of that particular head,leaving it in place to be discarded with the other cores. This real timequality control at the time of harvest, will greatly reduce the amountof human labor necessary at a later time, in the packaging process, andwill simultaneously increase the quality of the leaves being packaged.

FIG. 14B shows a harvesting system 300 comprising a harvesting press 316in accordance with the present disclosure. The harvesting press 316would be similar to or the same size as, a grow tray 200, with multiplecorers 318 strategically mounted in a mirror image press 320 of theplant sites in the grow tray 200. The corers 318 could vary in diameterbased on the particular plant or crop being harvested, and might beconfigured to spin, to make the coring process simpler. The harvestingpress 316 would drop down in a single motion 322 against the grow tray200, simultaneously coring all of the plant sites 324, resulting in thecores 326 remaining in their sites, and the loose leaves 328 separatedon the tray. Again, the leaves 328 can then be removed for additionalprocessing or packaging, either by tipping the tray with a pneumatic armor piston (not shown), causing all of the loose leaves to fall onto aconveyor belt or basket (see FIG. 14A), resulting in only the wantedleaves 328 being harvested, with no waste or unwanted plant mattercommingled with the leaves 328. The remaining cores 326 can be placedinto a hopper (see FIG. 14A) for further processing or discarding.

These “harvest in place” harvesting systems 300 allow for the harvestingof multiple lettuce heads in exactly the same place that they grewduring their life cycle, eliminating any unnecessary steps andmonumentally increasing throughput and efficiency in the harvestingprocess.

It will be understood that the embodiments of the present disclosure,which have been described, are illustrative of some of the applicationsof the principles of the present disclosure. Although numerousembodiments of this disclosure have been described above with a certaindegree of particularity, those skilled in the art could make numerousalterations to the disclosed embodiments without departing from thespirit or scope of this disclosure.

All directional references (e.g., upper, lower, upward, downward, left,right, leftward, rightward, top, bottom, above, below, vertical,horizontal, clockwise, and counterclockwise) are only used foridentification purposes to aid the reader's understanding of the presentdisclosure, and do not create limitations, particularly as to theposition, orientation, or use of the disclosed system and methods.

Additionally, joinder references (e.g., attached, coupled, connected,and the like) are to be construed broadly and may include intermediatemembers between a connection of elements and relative movement betweenelements. As such, joinder references do not necessarily infer that twoelements are directly connected and in fixed relation to each other. Itis intended that all matter contained in the above description or shownin the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative onlyand not limiting. Changes in detail or structure may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the disclosed apparatus, system and methodsas disclosed herein.

1. A vertical farming system for optimizing a plant growing process,comprising: a shelving system, said shelving system comprising aplurality of shelves, each of said plurality of shelves having a firstend and a second end with said first end being located higher than saidsecond end, each of said plurality of shelves configured to accept andsecure at least one grow tray, said plurality of shelves comprising aplurality of rollers, said plurality of rollers capable of rotating andconfigured such that a grow tray placed on said rollers will betransported from said first end to said second end using gravitationalforce; a lift, said lift positioned at the said second end of saidplurality of shelves, said lift configured to remove said grow tray froma first of said plurality of shelves and moving said grow tray to asecond of said plurality of shelves; said grow tray comprising at leastone port, said port located and configured on said grow tray such thatwhen said grow tray fills with water to a port level, the water willcascade out of the grow tray and into an adjacent grow tray, whereinwhen multiple grow trays are placed adjacent to each other on one ofsaid plurality of shelves, such that each grow tray is higher than theadjacent grow tray, pouring enough water into the highest grow tray willfill all of the grow trays, thereby optimizing a plant growing process.2. The vertical farming system for optimizing a plant growing process inclaim 1, further comprising one or more rails and a camera system, saidone or more rails located above each of said plurality of shelves, saidcamera system comprising a camera and a set of wheels, said camerasystem configured to use said set of wheels to move along said one ormore rails above each of said plurality of shelves, said camera systemconfigured to use said camera to take a plurality of pictures of saidgrow tray on said plurality of shelves.
 3. The vertical farming systemfor optimizing a plant growing process in claim 2, wherein said lift isfurther configured to move said camera system from said first of saidplurality of shelves to said second of said plurality of shelves.
 4. Thevertical farming system for optimizing a plant growing process in claim2 wherein said set of wheel comprises four wheels and two of said fourwheels are powered.
 5. The vertical farming system for optimizing aplant growing process in claim 2 wherein said camera system isconfigured to wirelessly transmit said plurality of pictures to adatabase on said vertical farming system.
 6. The vertical farming systemfor optimizing a plant growing process in claim 5 wherein said verticalfarming system comprises an application programming interface that usesthe photographs to optimize said plant growing process.
 7. The verticalfarming system for optimizing a plant growing process in claim 6 whereinsaid vertical farming system comprises a user interface that accessesthe application programming interface to optimize said plant growingprocess.
 8. The vertical farming system for optimizing a plant growingprocess in claim 7 wherein said user interface can be accessed by thirdparty vendors to determine conditions of a plant in said grow tray. 9.The vertical farming system for optimizing a plant growing process inclaim 8 wherein said third party vendor is the owner of a restaurant.10. The vertical farming system for optimizing a plant growing processin claim 1 wherein said shelving system comprises preformed materialscontaining hollowed cavities for irrigation of said grow trays, therebyobviating the need for separate conduit.